Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg spoke to county commissioners who are exploring ways of continuing operations of the Public Integrity Unit.

Gov. Rick Perry vetoed the $7.6 million two-year budget for the unit saying he and the public lack faith in Lehmberg after she was convicted of DWI.

The unit has 35 employees who investigate and prosecute fraud and corruption cases. Lehmberg in a statement said the governor might have cut the funding, but he cannot remove her office’s authority to pursue those cases.

Lehmberg said, “It is important to note that these cases — theft of state property, the filing of false paperwork with state agencies, corruption by state officials — are the responsibility of the Travis County District Attorney, whether the State provides funding or not, because the offenses occur in this county, just as they would be the responsibility of other district attorneys for crimes occurring in their county.”

Of the 400 cases currently being worked by the integrity unit, many are for various types of motor fuels tax and sales tax fraud, she said.

She made no specific mention of the investigation in the cancer-fighting state agency, which made $56 million in grants under questionable circumstances.

“The governor’s veto removed the funding for the public integrity unit, but the responsibility for these cases remains with the Travis County District Attorney’s Office,” Lehmberg said.

In addition, the House Appropriations Committee has scheduled a hearing for Thursday that will, among other issues, debate a resolution aimed at restoring the money for the public integrity unit that Perry cut.

Editor Picks

Comments

To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.

Ad:TopLeftBlog

Ad: Position1

Archives Title

Archives

ArchivesAbout this blog

About this Blog

The blog for the Dallas Morning News politics team tracks Dallas Fort Worth area, Texas and national campaigns.